Caged In
by Wolfie
Summary: A young girl gets trpped in a fighting arena, in here you have to fight to stay alive. UPDATE! Chp 3 just added. Four coming soon.
1. Default Chapter Title

Diclaimer.George owns starwars. I own Syke, Ghost , wolverian.  
Please R and R  
Enjoy  
  
Pain exploded in her right side and she heard the crowd roar with approval.  
Gasping for air she looked up to see which direction her competitor was coming  
from. Beads of perspiration trickled down her face ad her hair hung in lose   
clumps sticking to her face. Coughing she stood up slowly, glancing round   
cautiously like a nervous animal. Waiting, waiting, waiting.  
  
She seen or more felt he was coming, quickly side stepping his move she  
launched her counter attack against him. The alien was an ugly Tarone from  
Tatoonie, they were more known for their strength and sheer brutality than   
for anything else. Knowing that he would be impossible to kill, her aim   
was to knock him out of the ring and manage to stay alive.  
  
Springing away from his grasp, she then suddenly moved forward. Her foot  
contracted with his chest, one of the Tarone's only weak spots, she felt pain   
tear through her own leg as she crashed to the floor. The crowd roared again,  
stiffly she stood up, fighting the waves of pain and exhaustion threatening   
to knock her out. She knew that if she too collapsed the fight would be  
declared void and she would have to fight him again and this time it would  
be to the death.  
  
She limped slowly out of the arena, where the guards grabbed hold of her  
and dragged her back to her cell. They half flung, half dropped, her into  
the cell roughly and the door shut with a slam behind her. She didn't move  
from the position they'd left her in.  
  
"Skye?" a voice asked worriedly.  
Skye looked up, her eyes tried to once again become accustomed to the  
dimness of the cell after the bright hot light of the arena.  
  
Skye tried to answer but a sudden burst coughing that racked her whole  
body prevented her from doing so. She brought her hand up to her mouth and  
discovered it had drops of blood through it. Moaning she crawled painfully  
on her hands and knees towards her bunk.  
  
Skye's friend swung down from the top bunk to help her friend, the movement  
causing her to wince, results of her own last fight. Helping Skye up onto  
the bunk she grabbed an old bandage and a bottle of coreillian whiskey.   
She passed the bottle to Skye who took a short drink of it and then began  
to clean her bruised bleeding face and any other external wounds she could   
see.  
  
"It won't help your healing much, her friend said indicating the whiskey,  
but it should dull the pain a little."  
  
Skye just nodded, her mouth hurt to badly to speak.   
  
After a few hours she could feel her body begin to heal its self. She moved   
slowly from her sleeping position, "Ghost, she asked, how are you holding  
up?"  
  
Ghost looked down from her bunk, " I think, it would be more in order for  
me to ask how are you holding up", she answered.  
  
Skye sighed softly," I'm surprised I made it out of the there, it's getting  
worse. Now they are using real trained commercial fighters up against us, who  
only are doing it for publicity and to earn a bit more extra cash purposes.  
  
"I know" Ghost answered grimly, she was worried, very worried, the last   
fight she was in should have killed her. But thanks to both hers and Skye's  
Wolverian ancestry. They both processed healing abilities. But even for a fully  
blooded Wolverian, it would leave them laid up for at least four months, Ghost  
had only four days and she was back in the ring in two days time.  
  
"By the way, Ghost continued, Drey was in while you slept, he left some  
clean bandages and water for you."  
  
"Really " was the curt reply she got.  
When Skye and ghost first found themselves fighting in the Strang arena,   
Drey had seemed the best of a bad lot but the truth was he only supplied them  
with bandages, water and the odd bottle of correlian whiskey was because  
he bet most of his livelihood on them winning their fights and when they didn't  
that as yet, hadn't happened.  
  
Light blared in and both Skye and Ghost reflexivity but their hand up to  
shield their eyes.  
  
"3A1, a stout but burly human stated, your up next"  
"What, Ghost exclaimed, it's not until two days time, and I wasn't given any notice,  
I never prepared"  
  
"Well now you've got two hours" the man spat ,"You are against, Tiro Cjun,  
3B2 passed away last night so you're taking her place" with that he walked   
out and slammed the door behind him.  
  
Ghost looked over to Skye fear outlined in her face. No words were   
exchanged since they both knew this was a suicide match. Ghost was in  
doubt that she would even be carried back from this fight.  
  
Ghost then took something out from between the railings of her bunk, it  
looked like a small , purple, oval shaped stone on a black chain.   
  
"Skye she said firmly, give this to Melanie, I want her to see my memories  
, the good times we had."  
  
Skye backed away from Ghost, shaking her head. She knew what this meant  
, Ghost was positive that she wouldn't be coming back and wanted Skye to  
pass her memories unto her daughter.  
  
A small sob escaped but neither knew whom it was from ,they stood there for  
awhile, hugging each other. Before Ghost left she whispered "Get out of here,  
anyway possible"   
  
Skye nodded her throat too dry to speak and tears stinging her eyes fiercely.  
  
Skye lay for the rest of the day on her bunk, she didn't even watch the  
fight has many did to learn a could be opponents strategies. Turning the small  
oval in her hand , she knew the other reason Ghost had given it to her, it  
was a reason for Skye to go on living.  
  
  
****************  
  
A wave of loneliness and pain swept over Skye as she felt Ghost's death.  
She tried her best not to cry, her and Ghost had been the last two surviving  
members of "Twilight's cry" crew and now the feeling of emptiness  
that she was truly and utterly alone overwhelmed her.   
  
Sky touched the small oval and then found her own similar one, laying them  
Side-by-side she tried to focus on the future but instead found herself  
remembering the past.  
  
"Skye ,I'm positive braids will look absolutely fabulous"  
"But Ghost-"  
"Look how much your hair had grown since we last braided your hair and  
I know if I use Alderain silk instead of industrial elastic bands, your  
hair won't fall out this time."  
"Ghost, I like my hair the way it is"  
"Come on, be adventures!"  
"That what you said the last time!"  
  
Skye stifled another sob, it was getting harder not to cry as each passing  
moment she knew that she was more and more alone. The past three months  
had been hell as it was and the next would now be even tougher. The crew  
dropped off rather fast in the first month, till it had only been Ghost  
and her left. How they had actually come to be on Strangsoan was still a   
somewhat of a mystery to Skye.  
  
It was a routine voyage from Emberlee , to pick up supplies, back  
to her home planet. It was Ghost last flight for she was retiring for a while  
to be more of a Mother to Melanie. Everything was going as usual, boring.   
Until they got caught what seemed to be a meteoroid storm. After signalling  
to their companion ship to stay close, they lost all communication. The  
meteoroids that were came faster and larger. Forcing the "Twilight's cry" to  
land on a nearby habitable planet.   
  
That was when the ship was attacked and boarded. The crew had fought  
back and managed to kill several of the attackers but it was no use.  
Thinking back on it now, Skye decided it would have been better if they  
hadn't fought at all. Then their attackers would not have seen they could  
fight and they would not have ended up in this hellhole. Death would have  
been easier and a lot more welcome.  
  
*********************************************  
  
Later that night, Drey came. As usual he brought bandages and clean water.  
When he came through the door , Skye sat up slowly so as not to add to her  
injuries. She looked at him with contempt.  
  
"Tomorrow ,he stated, you're fighting again" He was met with an icy silence  
."   
There was no such thing as mourning time in here, once the person was  
dead that was it, they were gone. They didn't let you waste precious time  
on mourning in case they lost their precious money.  
"I was sorry about Ghost, he continued, you were a good team, I had been  
thinking of getting you two to fight together but she wasn't as good as a   
fighter as I'd thought"  
  
Skye glared at him. But still she remained silent until she asked,  
"Who am I fighting?"  
  
Skye could see Drey smirk even in the dimness of the cell.  
"Tiro Cjun" he answered.  
  
Skye felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and she clenched her  
fists together.  
Drey tossed the bandages at her and left the cell.   
  
Skye continued to stare at the door after he left, fear running through  
her , seeking to control it she took deep breaths. She felt anger grow in her  
,anger at what had happened to Ghost, the crew, her life. Tomorrow, she thought  
,tomorrow I will get revenge.  
  
**********************************  
  
The crowd roared as both opponents came out, some smiling to themselves,  
Positive that Tiro Cjun would have an easy fight. Skye faced her opponent,  
Eyeing him up, she looked for possible weak points and to see how she could  
Use her own disadvantages to her advantage. Tiro was a big ugly alien, his  
Background was unclear but it was obvious several breeds of races ran through  
Him. A big commercial fighter he viewed these fights as practices and warm ups.  
  
Skye stared at him, directing all her rage towards him. Distantly she  
Heard the chime sound for the fight to begin. As she moved into familiar  
stances she began to feel adrenalin course through her blood. This was not  
a fight she intended to lose.  
  
The crowds roar was deafening but Skye was only dimly aware of it for all her   
senses were directed at the one thing, Tiro Cjun. The fight began, something  
told her not to use all her normal fighting tactics and instead of trying to  
knock him out straight away she danced a little, never letting him get a   
blow in. Her catlike movements caused her to spring back from him, she felt   
a twinge of pain in her ribs but she could deal with it for the time being.   
  
Suddenly she could taste blood in her mouth, numbness in her face; told her   
that she had been hit in the nose. That was it, she was tried of playing.   
The pain in her face and side became a distant ache as she made her carefully  
calculated moves. She knew exactly where she was aiming for. She swung out   
and kicked him into the side, aiming for his middle rib. She seen him stumble  
back and Skye could hear his breathing pattern subtly change. Not giving him  
a chance to recover she sprang forward once more this time she slashed him   
across the neck. Tiro Cjun was now gasping for air, his broken rib pressing   
against his lung; he fell back on to the ground and hit the floor with a   
muffled thump. His breathing was growing more and more erratic. The crowd   
had for once gone to a deadly hush, no one could believe it as Tiro Cjun took  
his last breath.   
  
Skye stood up stiffly, aware that her nose still trickled blood she wiped it   
with the back of her hand. Looking down at the dead been she looked at him   
with pure contempt. Skye didn't care that she had killed him, instinct had   
taken over. He had killed Ghost, she had just repaid the deed.   
  
She confidently walked out of the Arena, her head held high. Adrenaline was   
still coursing through her veins and she was not properly aware of her wounds  
.The guards came to take her to her cell but this time instead of dragging   
her to her cell, they let her walk ahead. As she walked she wished to herself  
that she could make herself make a run for it, that they would have to shoot  
her down, so the pain and loneliness would end.   
  
Drey stood in the shadows, he had been pleased with Skye performance tonight  
and decided to bring her to the attention of management, it was time they   
too had their own commercial fighter.   
  
**************************************************   
  
Skye could feel the cells emptiness as she entered it. The door as always   
slammed shut behind her but this time she was surprised to have actually   
walked in and not have been thrown in. She stood still for the deadly silence  
was unsettling. There were no comforting words, no up building remarks.   
Suddenly she roused herself. Moving automatically she found the bandages and   
water and began to dress her wounds. She winced suddenly; locating the pain   
she found that she had somehow bruised it in the fight with Tiro Cjun.  
  
Skye tried to think back to the fight. It disturbed her slightly that she had  
no proper memory of the fight it was too hazy. She had no recollection of how   
she had survived the fight. Syke rolled over onto the dirty grey bunk and she   
let the welcome darkness claim her.  
  
A shaft of light and the sound of someone being thrown forward brought Skye   
out of her sleep but she didn't show that she had being awoke. She remained   
in the same position; back facing the door.  
  
"Skye", Drey said.  
  
But he got no response, no sign of her registering that he was there.  
  
"Skye, he tried again, you have a new cell mate"  
  
Drey knew she was awake, he could tell by the fact that her shoulders   
stiffened slightly when he entered the room. He sighed. Drey gestured for   
the two guards that accompanied him to exit the cell. Before he left he   
stated.  
"I hope you will acquaint her with our rules and regulations"  
The newcomer scuttled across the room and huddled in the nearest corner,   
murmuring softly. Skye for the best part of an hour ignored her. Gradually   
the whimpering got louder into what sounded like weeping.  
Skye turned round sharply and sat up. Before her was a girl with cropped   
sandy brown hair, her hair seemed to match her brown and cream robes. She   
regarded the girl dispassionately; from her look Skye gathered that she was   
only about fifth teen or sixteen standard years.   
  
***************************************  
  
  
The young girl trembled, taking in her grim surroundings she noticed the   
other girl lying on the bed. The other girl didn't seem bothered with her   
and left her to her own devices. The girl tried to stifle her sobs but   
couldn't. She started to sob gently but after awhile she could not stop the   
torrent of tears that threatened to spill over.  
  
A sharp "Shut up" brought her out of her misery momentarily. Glancing towards   
the direction of the cell that it came from. She saw that the other girl was   
sitting up, staring at her intently. The other girl appeared rough; her hair   
was long, black and matted, her clothes which once may have been white, were   
a dirty grey and torn, her face was bruised and cut, the same applied to the   
rest of her visible body.   
  
She rubbed at her tear-streaked face and stammered, "Where am I?"  
  
"The Strang fighting Arena" was the reply.  
  
Skye looked again at the young girl, something seemed familiar about her but   
she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was the way she dressed, Skye   
tried to think back to where she had seen that style before. Then it came to   
her, Jedi dressed in brown and cream robes.   
  
"What is your name?" Skye asked.   
This was interesting; perhaps with a Jedi as a cellmate it would make it   
easier to break out of here.  
  
"I'm Elira Ban," she said, choking back sobs.  
  
"A Jedi, I presume" Skye asked.  
Elira shook her head, "No I'm a pawdawan, I'm in training to be a Jedi   
knight"  
  
Skye nodded, though not quite understanding. She had heard that people who   
were Jedi processed something called the force. They were meant to be very   
powerful.  
  
Skye mused on for a bit and then remembered she had to explain the rules to   
her.  
"Right, she began, in here you fight to stay alive, you will more then likely  
be put against a male opponent from other arenas. To win a fight you either   
kill the person or knock them unconscious. If you are knocked unconscious,   
you lose. Lose ten times and they kill you, by then you would be too badly   
damaged to use as a slave."  
  
Continuing on in the matter of fact voice, Skye guessed Elira's next question  
"If you both are knocked unconscious the match is declared void and you have  
to fight your opponent again, to the death"  
  
Skye watched the Elira as she spoke. Elira grew paler and paler and looked   
like she was about to get sick. Skye went to stand up to stretch her legs   
and winced in pain. She took a look at her side; the bruising was more severe   
than she had thought. It was slowly going a purple colour. Skye winced again. The pain was threatening to knock her over. (Not such a good idea) she mused to herself. To take her mind of her pain she decided to try finding out a bit more about Elira. It then occurred to her that she never told Elira what her name was.  
  
"By the way, I'm Skye Mckerian"  
Skye recalled briefly during her studies she researched a little on the Jedi.  
  
"So where's your Master?" Skye inquired.  
  
The girl let out a painful gasp and tears sprang to her eyes. "She tried to   
protect me," Elira stammered, but they killed her"  
  
Skye felt a twinge of sympathy; she knew what it was like to lose someone   
you were close to.  
  
"It could have been worse," Skye stated simply.  
Elira face contained shock and pain. She looked up at her questionly.  
"They could have let her live."  
  
***************************  
  
Tell what you think. Do you want more to this?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Caged In. Part 2.

Disclaimer: I don't own Starwars only Skye, Ghost , wolverian.  
Sorry it took so long in coming.   
Enjoy  
  
  
Shock registered on Elira face, the bluntness of the statement caused her to blink twice. It made her think, how bad was it here anyway. She shook involuntarily, the cell was quickly become cold, and she stood up to try get her blood flowing in her legs again.   
  
Skye was indifferent; the long stay here had caused her to be like that. You couldn't trust anyone in case they turned on you and they would. She told Elira where to sleep for even she could see the tiredness in her stance.   
  
It creaked as Elira climbed onto the top bunk. She shied away as she seen something move on the bunk but when she located it found that it was only a spider. Sighing she rolled over and fell into a troubled sleep. Skye also tried to do the same but found she could not. Ideas were racing through her head of how to get out of here. Having a Jedi as her cellmate was certainly going to play to her advantage.  
  
It dawned on her that she was going to have to find out both hers and Elira fight schedules if they wanted to escape. So she could decide which time would they both be lease likely to be badly hurt. She grimaced as she realised who was the only person that had the fight details, Drey.  
  
She stood up and walked over to the cell door. To get the guards attention she began hammering on it. She heard the noise of something been thrown down and the sound of a chair creaking back. The slow heavy footsteps indicated he was bigger alien.  
  
"What do ya want"? he growled.  
Skye took a deep breath, "I need to talk to Drey"; her voice held authority and she tried to keep any contempt she was feeling out of it.  
  
The guard barked out a laugh "This will be a first" he muttered to himself.  
He walked off and Skye paced the room impatiently.  
Elira was still sleeping.  
  
He returned after a few minutes with two other guards and opened the cell door. "He'll see you now" he grunted. Then gestured for her to come out of the cell. Skye stepped out cautiously, the guards were mean looking and strong.   
  
As she walked down the stingy lit corridor she happened to glance at a window as she passed it. She hated what she saw. Her long once glossy black hair had turned a dull black and grey streak were beginning to find their way through it, her face looked sore and ugly a far cry from what she once was. Seeing this made her for once be happy there was no mirrors in the place.  
  
She entered the room; it was sparsely lit but somewhat decorative. Drey sat smirking in a plush chair behind a mall desk.  
"Sit, sit," he commanded.  
  
Skye had grown used to being told what to do so obeyed without hesitation. He waited for her to speak.  
  
"I would like the fight schedules for 3Zc and I. She hasn't fought before and needs to learn the routine."  
  
Drey smiled thinly, "Is that so," he asked.  
Skye only nodded, as she was growing more and more uncomfortable.  
"What makes you think you deserve to get them without nothing in return", he asked.  
  
"I've increased your pay packet, your status, what more could you ask for"  
  
He looked at her and said slyly "A lot more."  
************************************  
The office suddenly felt as if it had got a hundred times smaller. Skye fought to keep control as Drey got up and began slowly making his way towards her, only stopping to look at certain items. Skye focused straight ahead and tried to appear calm. Drey circled round her and finally stopped behind her chair.   
  
"I'd like to make a proposition to you," he whispered into her ear.   
  
He knew he was making her uncomfortable, that was the whole idea of it.  
"What" she hissed.  
  
Drey straightened up, "You have talent, I've watched you fight long enough to know. How would you like to become our next commercial fighter?"  
  
Skye almost gasped with relief.  
"That depends, she answered coldly, on if there are any benefits involved."  
  
Drey smirked, "Naturally."  
  
This, Skye knew, could play to her advantage.  
  
Skye left Drey' offices looking very smug. She had managed to get the fight schedule of him and was pleased with herself. She had also learned something else very significant; she was no longer on a planet. They were orbiting a planet's moon and every so often they would get prisoners from the larger encampment on the planet. But the ship was where the fighting was done.  
  
Skye tried to get an idea of where she was as they walked her back to her cell. But it all looked the same. Walking into the cell, she noticed that Elira was asleep.  
  
"Wake up, she hissed, I have your fight schedule."  
  
Elira was groggy and sore and it took her a while to comprehend what was going on.  
  
"That's a good thing?"  
  
Skye scowled, "Yes, sometimes you only get hours in advance when you are fighting but with this you get days."  
  
Elira looked terrified and curled herself into a ball. She didn't know how she would fight, how she would be able to survive. Her life until now had always been sheltered, she never had to worry about anything before.  
  
"Look you don't have to worry about it, you have the force."  
  
Elira winced. "No, I don't, I lost my connection to it when my Master was killed."  
  
Skye stared at her intently. This was going to make everything a lot harder.  
  
"I guess you will just have to fight without it. When you fight, you concentrate on nothing else but surviving. You just fight, don't look at the people around you, just your opponent. Don't even think, I want you to rely on instinct, nothing more nothing less."  
  
Elira looked away from Skyes steely gaze. She understood what she was saying but didn't know how she could do it. This wasn't what she was trained for. To kill another lifeform. She gulped, fear rising within her. The ground felt very close and she suddenly slumped to the ground.  
  
Skye rolled her eyes and heaved her up onto the lower bunk. It was times like these that she missed Ghost. She didn't balk at the slightest bit of danger.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
She killed a sudden urge to lash out and hurt something. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on nothingness, attempting to soothe her tattered emotions. Perhaps if this new one was good it would take some pressure of her but she had a feeling it was only beginning.  
  
------------------------  
Elira crawled back into the cell after her first match. She felt as if death were close at hand. Every movement she took hurt and she had no idea how she was going to get back up to her top bunk.  
  
Glancing upwards she noticed that Skye was sitting on the top bunk, leaving the bottom one free. For the moment Skye was ignoring her so she was left to her own devices. She heaved herself up on to the bunk and just lay there. Not having the strength or endurance of pain to move herself into a more comfortable position.   
  
Presently Skye checked up on her. She shoved a bottle into her grasp and when Elira drank from it. She spluttered, not been used to drinking. "Hurts, everywhere," She gasped.  
  
Skye nodded "It will only get worse." She didn't even bother attempting to offer false comfort, her time in the arena having killed most of her compassion.  
  
"Nine times," Skye said gruffly, nine times left to lose like that."  
  
Elira didn't bother trying to respond, the motion of even nodding her head caused too much pain. She couldn't believe how someone could just go out and try to kill a fellow being like that. How they could stay so emotionless and then how people could watch it for enjoyment. There wasn't a trace of humanity in it.  
  
Skye turned from her again, she felt the whole place shudder and knew that it was on the move again. Somehow she needed to get near a console and find their exact coordinates. Now that was a little to optimistic and she doubted strongly that she would so she would just have to compromise. She began to work out how exactly she would escape. But it relied on two thing; first Skye convincing Drey to let Elira and her fight together and secondly Elira regaining control over the force.   
  
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"Skye please."  
"Why me?"  
"I don't know something to do with the fact that you're my best friend."  
"Oh that."  
"Skye!"  
"Okay, okay, I'll come but I don't want to, understood?"  
A 13-year old Skye looked up at the 15 year old Ghost pleadingly. "Please don't make me come."  
"Skye, it won't kill you." Ghost stated. "For all you know, you might even enjoy flying."  
  
"Unlikely, I get airsick at the thought of it."  
  
  
The image wavered and shook and disappeared, leaving the coldness of the cell.  
It was a memory from almost 10 years ago when Ghost had forced Skye to come to a fighting seminar and surprisingly Skye had become hooked to it.  
  
Skye passed her hand over the opal and watched the memory dissipate. She was using her own opal, too upset to use Ghosts. Elira was recovering from her last fight and hopefully sleeping. Skye hadn't wanted her to see that.  
  
Though that memory momentarily brought comfort yet nothingness still remained. It was getting harder to fight any suicidal tendency she harboured since there was an opportunity to end her life everyday. But her promise to Ghost stopped her from going through with it.  
  
Skye rubbed at her bruised side, Drey hadn't got her to fight since she killed Tiro Cjun. That brought a grim smile to her. At least she had done something right.  
Also her food rations had changed. They were actually getting something that may have once been eatable food and an odd time there was meat but Skye was sure that was either left over kill or rats. She hoped it was the latter.  
  
All she was waiting for now was a new cell. She snorted at the thought of that. There was no such thing as that. Their cell was probably the best suite in the dump.  
Something in the grey shadows moved, stopped and moved again. It started scratching and scratching, looking for something to eat. Concluding that it was more than likely a rat Skye chose to ignore it. Until the scratching noise became unbearable, she ran her hand along the wall and located a small broken rock. Aiming it as best as she could she flung it with deadly accuracy at the noise. The rat stopped scratching and moving.   
  
As it hit the rat, the noise woke Elira up.   
"What happened?" She asked groggily.  
  
"Breakfast. Though if I knew we were heading back to the planet surface I would have kept it to sell."  
  
Elira wrinkled her nose in disgust. "We are not really going to eat that?"  
  
"What do you think you have been eating for the last few days?"  
  
Elira felt her stomach churn and quickly got up and ran to the corner where she got sick violently.  
  
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Tell me what you think!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Preparations for survival.

Here's the third chapter, the next will be up at the end of the week. As always enjoy and don't forget to review.  
  
  
An idea was forming in Skyes mind. Perhaps escape would not be so far away after all. Recently Drey had let her start to train Elira as her partner or replacement as the case may be. To her surprise Elira was showing promise and had seemed to got used to relying without the force.  
  
When they would leave the fighting arena after a match, there was usually a horde of people nearby. The guards would never come to get her; Skye had always automatically gone to them. That would give her the opportunity to get to a communications console because if memory served her right there was one nearby for the brokers to send out the results. There would be people nearby and it was guarded but only by one human male and she doubted she would have a lot of trouble taking him out quietly.  
  
But for this to work Elira would have to distract the guards long enough for her to get   
to it. For a moment Skye felt as if she was once more alive again, really alive. It filled her and the once bleak and desolate outlook no longer seemed so bad.  
  
She jumped off her bunk and shook Elira to wake her.  
  
Elira looked up at her with pain-glazed eyes. "What's wrong?" She mumbled.  
  
Even in her somewhat semi-conscious state, Elira could tell that their was something different about Skye. Something more positive and if anything she was more determined.  
  
"Get up, we have to start training. We have a fight coming up and if luck is on our side a means to escape."  
  
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Drey read over Skye's file, pondering what to do with her next. At 23 standard years of age she wasn't very old but Drey knew for a human there was only so much hammering their body could take before their body's would simply give up. He was almost positive he would only get another two years out of her, at least long enough for her to train someone to take her place.  
  
Glancing at her file, he smirked to himself. When she first came, he had expected her to escape but that never happened. Now after been here over a year, he felt that she had given up the will to escape. When she had been in his office that time, she no longer had a strong willed and determined presence and he had linked that to the death of Ghost.   
  
Her next fight was coming up within three days time and he decided to bet on her but just to play it safe he betted on her losing as well.  
  
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Elira was wary around Skye, ever since she had met her she viewed her as a sleeping predator. She could appear calm and at ease but just as easily she could change and Elira found that she was quick to anger.  
  
Skye laid out the details in fount of her. "Do you know what to do?"  
  
Elira nodded glumly and Skye picked up on this.  
"What is it?" She demanded.  
"Do you want to stay here and die. Do you even know what to do to the people here when they die?"  
  
Elira shook her head.  
  
"Nothing, they leave them to rot on some planet, or sometimes they feed them to their pets. There is no such thing as a decent burial." Skye's anger and pain was evident in both her features and her voice.  
  
She had rose from her crouching position and kicked uselessly at the bunks.  
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They had spent the three days preparing. Skye had managed to obtain extra use of the training arena and spent every gruelling minute she could get in there. Elira had seemed pleased at her extreme methods but Skye was determined to win. She was not going to die in here, she had promised Ghost she wouldn't.   
  
Three days hadn't been an adequate amount of time to prepare but it was always better than two hours. It had given them time to see weaknesses that could be exploited by their opponents.   
  
The sweat was pouring from Elira's forehead as she tried to block Skye's kicks and punches. Skye seem oblivious to this and continues on fighting. She paused and stood in a defensive position, giving Elira the chance to strike her. Elira swung forward and out with her leg and attempted to get her in the side. Dropping close to the floor, Skye dodged the blow and dealt one of her own. Jumping back up, she hit Elira in the side with her arm.  
  
"You dropped your elbow again," Skye growled.  
"You must defend yourself, protect your weak spots at all times."  
  
Skye wiped a sweat soaked lock of hair from her face and felt a twinge of sympathy. She had once been in that state. Terrified.  
  



End file.
